Defeat
by Eilinora sedai
Summary: What if Lan and Nynaeve had never been able to marry on the Ath'an miere ship? What if Moghedien returned? R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Defeat

Chapter 1 Moghedien

AU starting in COS when Lan rescues Nynaeve from the boat.

What if Moghedien went to the boat to see if Nynaeve had survived?

* * *

Lan hugged Nynaeve tightly. He loved her with everything he had, and he hated knowing she was ever in any danger. If he had been just one minute later, Nynaeve might be dead. He shivered at the thought of losing her. He would never allow anything bad to happen to her again.

"I knew you would somehow survive." Lan and Nynaeve both turned to where the voice had come from. "Moghedien!" Nynaeve breathed. Lan recognized that name; it was one of the forsaken. "Lan, she has me shielded." He reached for his sword, it would do no good against a forsaken, but he had to try to keep Nynaeve safe. His hand was on the hilt of his sword, but it wouldn't move! He couldn't move. He moved his eyes over to Nynaeve and watched as something he couldn't see hit her and made her fall over. He wanted to run and catch her, but soon darkness found him too.

* * *

Lan's eyelids slowly opened and darkness met him. He jumped up from the ground as memory of what had just happened came back to him. Looking around, he saw that he was in a cellar. He walked up to the metal bars in front of him and saw that there were about ten prisons across from his and ten next to his. Torches were lit in between each cell. "Nynaeve" he called out. Where was she? He looked at the cell right across from his and saw a small lifeless form lying on the ground. He wanted to jump through the bars and make sure his mashiara was all right, but he knew he couldn't. He stood looking at her for what seemed like hours before she finally started to stir. He saw her jump up and look around. She walked to the bars in front of her and looked into his face. The fire from the torches framed his face. She tried to keep her worry from showing on her face but she knew she was doing a bad job of it when Lan said "Are you all right my heart?" "Yes Lan I am fine, except for this splitting headache" she said holding her head in her hands. She felt badly about telling him her head was hurting, she knew that would make him even more worried about her. "We must be in Moghedien's dungeon" she said inspecting the rows of cells around them. Lan nodded silently in agreement. Turning, she looked around her cell; in the corner of the small space was an old wooden chair. She sighed and took a seat in the chair; her head was making her dizzy. "Are you all right my heart?" She nodded "I am still blocked; in fact, I can't even feel the source anymore." He noted the worry in her voice "I will find a way to get us out of here, Nynaeve." She smiled, but on the inside she was crying, her head was pounding.

* * *

"Mistress, what are your plans for the prisoners?" Moghedien turned around and faced Freya, "It seems as though Nynaeve is in love with that man, and he with her. But I think it would be pointless to torture him with weapons, the most pain and torture for him would be to watch his love being beaten." Freya's lips turned in an evil smile when the door banged open and admitted one of her guards. "Pardon me mistress, but the prisoners are awake." He bowed as the words left his lips. Moghedien turned to Freya "See that my plans get done. But do not lay a finger on the man!" Freya smiled and left the room. Moghedien trusted Freya; she had been in her service for so long Moghedien considered her a friend. She had picked Freya to do the torturing for now because she was stronger than any of her other servants in the power, and she was more brutal. Besides, she had other things to do first. Smiling, she made a gateway away from her home.

* * *

Nynaeve jumped from the chair when the sound of a metal door rang through the row of cells. Lan had never sat down, but he was looking in the direction the sounds had originated from. Slowly walking towards them, was a woman in a black dress followed by a dirty jail man. She Pointed to Lan's cell, and the dirty man unlocked it. Lan must be held with the power she thought, because he stood still when the bars were wide open. Nynaeve struggled to hear what the woman said.

* * *

Lan grimaced as his cell door was being opened; he was being held in place by air. The woman walked to him slowly with a small evil smile parting her lips. "What is your name?" she said slowly. He just glared at her; surprisingly the woman didn't try to beat him, she just continued talking. "You seem to be very strong" she said mockingly while running her fingers over the muscles in his arms. He growled a low growl in his throat and she smiled. "I do not think my methods of torture would work on a strong man like you, but I know that you love Nynaeve" he tried to break free of his invisible bonds when Nynaeve's name was mentioned; but the bonds held. "I think it would be more torturous for you to watch your love being beaten instead of you." He began to make low angry noises as he tried to move. They were going to make him watch Nynaeve being tortured! He wanted to kill all in his path, his breathing quickened and his heart pounded in his chest. He couldn't let anyone hurt her! But he couldn't move. Freya laughed as the man tried to struggle against his bonds; Moghedien had been right, this was more torturous to him than any beating she could give him. With a low throaty giggle, she walked out of the cell and let the jail man lock it up before releasing the bonds. Lan flew forward against the bars as soon as he could move.

Freya turned to Nynaeve's cell and once again had the jailer unlock the door. "Nynaeve!" the man called from behind her. She looked at Nynaeve; the woman had to know she was going to be beaten, yet she stood as if she were the one in charge! Freya smiled; she would beat that attitude out of her.

* * *

Nynaeve watched as the woman talked quietly to Lan; she must have been saying something awful because Lan looked as though he was going to kill her. The woman turned and had the disgusting man open the bars. Nynaeve! Lan's voice called out in anguish. Nynaeve knew immediately what was going to happen to her and they were going to make Lan watch. She didn't want Lan to have to see her that way. She shuddered, the pain in her head had not gone, but she doubted that would be the only pain she would be feeling when this woman left. Well, she thought, if this woman is going to beat me, I will not look like a pup kneeling before its master. She drew herself up as courageously as she had when she was wisdom; she reached up and gripped her braid with nervous shaky hands. The woman chuckled and Nynaeve felt a blow hit her across the jaw. She flew down on the ground with a grunt. Nynaeve got up weakly, I have been in fights with children who hit harder than that she said to herself. She knew this woman was only starting, but she tried to keep her spirits high as long as she could. She was almost on her feet again when a continuous rain of blows struck her entire body. It felt as if she were being beaten by a group of men with bats. She heard her voice cry out in pain several times. Her voice sounded strange in her own ears; had it really been her who made that noise? The hits stopped for a moment and Nynaeve looked up at the woman; the ugly man was standing next to her licking his lips. Nynaeve wanted to hit them both as hard as she could, but she could barely keep her head up on her own. With a moan she laid her head back down on the hard stone floor. She felt air beginning to be wrapped around her as she was set upright. When she was on her feet, the air weaves began to tighten around her body; she thought her eyes must be popping out of her head. Her chest was being pushed in and she couldn't breathe, she began to try to reach air but it was hopeless; she was suffocating! The air was released and Nynaeve fell on the ground gasping and coughing for air. Before she could even breathe for a moment, the woman began hitting her with the power again. Nynaeve moaned loudly, she felt like she was going to lose consciousness. Just before everything went black, the hits stopped; Nynaeve sucked in as much of the cool air in as she could, before the woman would hit her again. Nynaeve's eyes widened as she started to feel warmth around her skin. The warmth quickly turned to heat and then to fire. Nynaeve screamed as loud as she could. She rolled on the ground, there were no real flames surrounding her, but she felt as though she was melting. "Laaaaaaaaan!" she heard herself scream. Just as she thought she would die, the heat went away and she was left gasping and crying on the ground. "I will leave you for now, Nynaeve, but I will be back tomorrow." The woman smiled down at Nynaeve, but she had no fight left in her, thankfully she thought it is over for now. The ugly jail man cleared his throat loudly "Mistress Freya, you promised." The woman, Freya laughed viciously "Yes, Parg, I did and you may do now as we agreed earlier." With that Freya left the dungeon. Nynaeve laid there confused; what had they agreed? Her question was immediately answered as the dirty man removed his belt, and lowered his pants. She screamed "No! NO! Get away from me now!" Parg licked his lips "Quiet down now or I will bring Freya back in here!" Nynaeve was too weak to move or defend herself, so she just screamed as Parg got down next to her.

* * *

Lan stood watching as the woman walked into Nynaeve's cell. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. They had known the worst punishment would be watching his mashiara get hurt. He wanted to die when Nynaeve fell to the ground at an invisible blow. Anger rushed through him like a flood, he would kill this woman! Pride swept through him as Nynaeve began to get up after the first hit; his mashiara was strong. He watched as Nynaeve was struck over and over again. He cringed and almost fell every time she would scream; he couldn't help her or save her. He watched as she was flung up by air and nearly suffocated. Laaaaaaaaan! She screamed. He started shaking the bars of his cell as hard as he could, he had to help her. The door didn't budge; and soon Nynaeve was on the ground screaming as if she were on fire. He couldn't keep himself from growling and shaking the bars. Finally, the woman stopped and she walked out of the room, but to Lan's surprise, the jailer stayed in Nynaeve's cell. He wondered what the man was going to do, when the ugly man began to take his trousers off. No! NO! Get away from me now, He heard Nynaeve scream. He wanted to run through the bars and kill the man, but he couldn't. "Don't you touch her! I am warning you, man!" Lan yelled, but the man didn't even look over. The jailer knew Lan could do nothing. Turning to face the other wall he listened as Nynaeve cried and screamed. Anger welled up in him, more anger than he had felt in his entire life. He yelled and hit the stone wall in front of him, he didn't even cringe when his fist hit the wall, he deserved the pain he thought. He kept his back to Nynaeve's cell until he heard the creaking of her door, and the ugly man was walking away with a grin on his face. He growled as the man walked past him. He turned his attention to Nynaeve who was lying still on the ground. He didn't hear any noise coming from her, no crying or screaming, just silence. Her dress was hitched above her knees and was muddy and dirty. He was about to call her name when she turned to her side and began to sick up. He understood why, that man had hurt her in every way. He wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her it was going to be okay, but he couldn't. He watched as she lifted herself up and leaned against the side of her cell. He saw her pull her bruised legs toward her stomach and she started rocking herself slowly while she cried. He felt a tear fall down his cheek. His sweet mashiara needed him, and he couldn't help her.

* * *

Nynaeve lay still when Parg got up and left her cell. She felt like so many pieces of her were dead. She wished she was dead. Leaning to her side she emptied her stomach in disgust. She moaned as she lifted herself up against the wall, she pulled her legs toward her ignoring her physical pain. She began to slowly rock herself back and forth trying to calm herself down. She would rather have been beaten for years than have that disgusting man touch her again. She laid her head down on her lap and continued rocking herself back and forth.

* * *

I know, horrible chapter, but chapter 2 will be out soon don't worry. Please review and tell me what you thought!


	2. Chapter 2

Defeat

Chapter 2 Opportunities

Disclaimer: I do not own Wheel of Time or any of its fantastic characters.

Nynaeve laid on the cold stone floor of the dungeon as Freya closed the cell door. This beating had been the worst yet and Nynaeve could hardly move. She could feel Lan's eyes on her as she lay on the ground. They had been here for a matter of weeks and Lan had been made to watch her being beaten and tortured every day; she knew that his torture was worse than hers.

Nynaeve found her eyes searching through the bars for the jail man who would always come after her beatings. The man wasn't there!

She felt for the first time in a long time, joy. Whenever the jailer would come to her she would sick up the little she was given to eat; just the sight of the man made her sick. "Nynaeve" echoed Lan's pained voice from the cell across from hers. She didn't feel as though she could move to look at him and tell him she was okay. Slowly, she turned her neck to face him with a loud moan.

She looked at him sadly; he seemed pale and weak. She had been keeping an eye on him every day and had noticed that he wasn't eating unless she told him to. A plate with some stale bread was sitting underneath the bars of his cell but he didn't even seem to notice it.

When they had first been thrown in Moghedien's dungeon, Lan never rested. He merely paced his cell back and forth for hours. Now, though, he was sitting back against the stone wall at the end of his cell. He still had his same stoic calm, but Nynaeve knew he was dying. Lan was like a tiger in a cage and she could see the anger rising in him every day that he had to watch her beaten.

Nynaeve knew what she must look like; she could see the cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs and she could only imagine what her face looked like. As Nynaeve lay still on the ground, she could hear the sound of her harsh rasping breathing. Still looking at Lan, Nynaeve croaked "Lan…..you must…eat." He seemed to jump at the sound of her voice. "I will not, my heart."

Nynaeve tried to sit up but with a loud cry of pain, she laid back down. Her hands trembled with the pain that went through her.

She sat still, trying to calm herself down and when she did she said "You have…..to keep your…strength up…for when we escape." He shot her a look that disturbed Nynaeve; it was a look of sheer pity. He did not have any hope of ever leaving this place. "Lan, you….will eat….that bread…right now." She tried to sound stern as she would have long ago and somehow it seemed to cheer Lan up a little. With a weak smile Lan reached for the bread and took a few small bites before setting it back down.

Nynaeve knew it was better than nothing. She began to wonder again why the jailer hadn't come yet; it had never failed, whenever she would get her hopes up that he would not come he always seemed to show up. It had never taken him this long to show up before; a pang of hope flew through her mind. Suddenly, the all too familiar sound of a squeaking cell door echoed through the dungeon. Her heart began to pound and she began to feel sick as steps rang on the ground coming closer. The person who stood before her cell was not who she had expected; it was much worse.

Moghedien stood looking down angrily at Nynaeve. The forsaken smiled at her and said "How good to see you again, Nynaeve. Though I must admit you looked better last time." She turned her gaze to Lan "Have you been enjoying the show?" Lan bounded up and against his cell bars with a look of death in his eyes. Nynaeve now knew why the jail man hadn't come yet; her beating wasn't over for today. Moghedien turned back to Nynaeve like a wolf staring down at her prey. The cell door flew open by an invisible force and Moghedien stepped through. The forsakens shoes clicked on the ground as she walked. "I have waited a long time for this day, Nynaeve. I have been so busy lately so I had Freya warm you up for the beatings I am going to give you now."

Nynaeve drew herself up trying not to show the fear that she was feeling. Moghedien smiled and used a weave of air to bind Nynaeve's hands and legs so that she couldn't move. Nynaeve didn't even whimper to the forsakens dismay and angrily Moghedien started the beating. She smiled as Nynaeve cried out in pain from the invisible weaves of air that were being hurled at her.

Moghedien could hear Lan threatening her with death when he was free and she couldn't help but to make the weave stronger.

Moghedien changed the weave of air to hold Nynaeve upside down and suspended in midair. "This seems familiar doesn't it? Only, this time there will be no hero of legends to save you." Nynaeve shook uncontrollably as weaves of air began to constrict her whole body. She felt as though she was going to burst from all of the pressure. The room began to spin but before darkness could take her the pressure fell away along with the weaves holding her in midair. She fell down on the stone floor gasping for breath. Nynaeve felt tears' streaming down her cheeks as the pain in her body was now too much to hold in.

Moghedien laughed and said "I'll be back tomorrow, Nynaeve." With that the forsaken left the dungeon shoes clicking all the way. "Nynaeve! Nynaeve!" came Lan's panicked voice. She couldn't answer; she knew that if she opened her mouth the only thing that would come out would be cries. She suddenly began to hear the nightmarish sound of shoes clicking on the dungeon floor coming closer and closer to her cell. This time Nynaeve knew exactly who would be coming; the jailer.

The disgusting man noisily started unlocking her cell door when a loud explosion sounded above them. The jailer stopped in his tracks and waited a moment before relocking the door to go and see what the commotion was. More loud noises ensued and this time the floor and walls began to shake with it. Nynaeve looked around her cell blankly trying to figure out what could be going on.

Her breath caught as suddenly she could feel the shield on her disappear. Her heart began to pound as she realized that Moghedien must be under attack. She wondered who could be attacking one of the forsaken. The jailer began to turn back towards the exit of the dungeon when Lan grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him against the bars.

"Open my cell and then give me the keys." The man seemed to shake; he knew that this man loved the woman he had been using and that if he let him out he would kill him. "Let me go and I will."

Lan didn't reply he merely pulled the man tighter against the bars making the man flinch. The jailer grabbed his keys and unlocked Lan's cell slowly with fear in his eyes. Lan let go of the man while at the same moment flinging the cell open. The man was thrown across the room and hit Nynaeve's cell from the force of Lan's push.

Lan walked to the man trying to regain his calmness but as he looked at the jailer all he felt was the anger he had felt when he had to watch this man using Nynaeve. "It wasn't my fault" the jailer cried still lying on the ground.

Lan grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and using any strength he had left, lifted him up to his eye level. "What is the way out of here?" he asked. The man began to sob under Lan's grip and said "On the left there is the door out of the dungeons; follow the halls and go out through the kitchens."

Lan didn't want to look at the filth of the man any longer and with one movement Lan snapped the jailers neck. The man crumpled limply against Nynaeve's cell door as another loud explosion above them started to shake all of the walls. He found the ring of keys in the jailers hand and unlocked Nynaeve's cell.

She was lying on the ground in the same position she had been in for what seemed like forever. The small light of the torches allowed Lan to finally see Nynaeve up close and he gasped at the state of her. Her clothes were ripped and bloodied all over; she was bruised from head to foot and had bloody cuts all over her body.

Kneeling down beside her he said "This is our chance to leave now, my heart." Nynaeve looked weakly into his eyes "Leave me, I cannot…. walk on my own and…. you are too weak to ….carry me. Besides, ….we don't know who…. or what is happening up there." Lan could hear cries of dying men above them and knew they had to leave now or never. He put his arms underneath Nynaeve and lifted her up.

He saw tears forming in her eyes and he remembered that she was bruised. "I am sorry" he said looking at her. "Hurry Lan,…. I am no longer shielded…. and it may not last long." Lan didn't have to be told twice, he bounded out of the dungeon with all of his might and found himself in the large dark halls. The halls were completely empty except for a man at the end fighting with a woman.

It took Lan a moment to recognize the face of the man fighting.

He was tall, had red hair and grey eyes, and he seemed to have the world balanced on his shoulders. "Rand!" Lan called out across the large hall. The woman Rand was fighting fell limply and Rand turned to look in the direction his name had been called. Rand nearly fell when he saw the man who had called his name. It was Lan! He hadn't seen or heard from or of Lan since Moiraine's death!

Rand found himself running to his old friend and as he got closer he noticed the paleness in Lan's face. Rand had never seen Lan look so haggard and faint. It took Rand a moment to notice that Lan had someone wrapped in his arms. Rand actually did trip when he saw the bruised face of Nynaeve al' Meara looking up at him.

"Nynaeve!" Rand called as he ran to his wisdom. "Lan, what happened?"

"Is this the best time to answer questions, sheepherder?" Lan said gruffly.

Rand nodded and quickly showed them the way out "Wait for me out there, I have some questions that need answering."

Lan didn't wait to reply, he ran or rather fast walked out of the doors and to the bright light of the sun. He squinted as his eyes tried to adjust to the light that he hadn't seen in weeks. Nynaeve hid her face from the light in Lan's shirt. When his eyes seemed to finally adjust to the light, Lan got a good look around them and the gardens that surrounded them.

The beauty of these gardens was the last place he expected a forsaken to be hiding in. He got down on his knees and laid a limp Nynaeve down in the dirt path. "Are you all right, mashiara?"

"Of course…I am" she said "I am not…a weak…..little lamb." Lan felt a bit of happiness at the sight of Nynaeve still being Nynaeve. No sooner had Lan set Nynaeve on the ground than Rand came running out of the doors. He got down next to Nynaeve with amazement in his eyes "We all thought you were dead!"

Sorry this chapter took so long to post! Please r&r and tell me your thoughts. Constructive criticism is appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Defeat Chapter 3

Who is it?

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own Wheel of Time or any of the fantastic characters living inside of it.

* * *

"We all thought you were dead" Rand said disbelievingly as he looked down at the almost unrecognizable ex-wisdom. The hard dusty ground underneath Nynaeve's ripped apart body was uncomfortable to say the least, but Nynaeve didn't even seem to notice it.

Shaken was one word that could easily describe the sensation coursing through Rand but also relief. He as well as almost everyone else that knew Nynaeve had thought she had died. Though, now, as he looked over Nynaeve's features, he wasn't certain if a part of her wasn't dead.

Dried blood matted her tangled hair down and was strewn all over any visible parts of her flesh. Cuts, scrapes, bruises were covering nearly every inch of her skin not to mention the state of her face. A big black eye drew most of his attention as it was the color of pitch.

All that was left of what looked to be an expensive silk blue gown was only enough fabric to cover the upper half of her legs; the rest looked as though it had been ripped away by wild dogs. Sadly, Rand didn't doubt that wild dogs hadn't done it.

From the state of her, he would have believed that a trolloc had beaten her. Dried, cracked lips proved that she hadn't had a drink in at least a few days causing him to wonder how many days it had been since she had had anything to eat.

Lan's state was better than Nynaeve's and, yet, there seemed to be a deep impenetrable pain behind his stone features. The man looked barely able to hold his own weight. His cheeks seemed to be slightly sunken in from lack of food and water.

Though Lan looked about ready to fall over, he kept his eyes on Nynaeve. If balefire began to rain down upon them Rand doubted Lan would take his eyes off of Nynaeve for even a second. The man seemed intent on making sure nothing and no one would harm her.

Getting down on the ground beside Nynaeve, Rand lifted Nynaeve's head carefully and pulled out his water bag. A groan escaped the beat up woman's mouth giving Rand a start. Her eyes were now open, yet they looked partially glazed over as if consciousness were a mere dream and Nynaeve, its dreamer.

"Nynaeve, drink some water" he said trying to hide the slight tremble in his voice. Dragon reborn or no, Nynaeve was still one of the closest things he had to family, and seeing her so broken put him in just as much pain as Nynaeve was in.

Nynaeve's lips weakly opened and slowly, Rand began to pour some of the refreshing liquid into her mouth. After only a few drips had entered her mouth, Nynaeve began to cough and choke as if swallowing was something she had to re-learn.

Laying Nynaeve's head back down on the ground, Rand rose up from the ground and moved over to Lan who was still focusing on Nynaeve like a wolf on its prey. Though it was common with Lan to think his features may have been carved out of stone, it was especially true now. The hardest, coldest stone in the entire world.

"What happened?" he asked after a moment of just eyeing the man. "The time for questions is not now, sheepherder" Lan answered coldly. Strangely, Rand was not taken aback by the man's coldness. Perhaps he should have been, but considering all he had just gone through, coldness was to be expected.

"My Lord Dragon" a strong, deep voice said behind him. Turning, Rand came face to face with an asha'man. The man was the epitome of the word asha'man. Eyes cold and unfeeling, hands tightly clinched at his side; and mostly, a look in his eyes that spoke of unspoken fear only known by those unfortunate males with the ability to touch the power.

"The one we came after has disappeared through a gateway; the rest are dead" the asha'man continued once Rand had faced him. From behind him, Rand heard Nynaeve make a sort of whimpering sound as if she were trying to keep from crying.

A stone dropped to the pit of Rand's stomach. Never in his entire life had he ever even dreamed of Nynaeve whimpering. The woman was the fieriest and strongest woman he had ever met! Yet now as she lay half dead on the ground, she cowered in fear of the simple idea of her tormentor escaping.

Something began to take over inside of Rand. It was as if he began to feel extremely protective over the woman on the ground. Right then at that moment, he would have killed any who even dared speak a harsh word to her. Panic began to take over him. If _she _had captured Nynaeve the first time, who was to say she wouldn't try again?

"Weave a gateway" Rand said out of nowhere to the asha'man. "My Lord?" he asked in honest confusion. "Weave a gateway right outside of the city gates of Ebou Dar" Rand replied nonchalantly. The asha'man hesitated for a moment but after seeing the look on Rand's face, he quickly obeyed his orders and opened a gateway to Ebou Dar.

Turning to the asha'man, Rand said "I need five asha'man to go through the gateway with us; the others are to return back to the black tower." The man didn't waste a single second to hesitate or to even give Rand a second look. He quickly ran back inside before returning shortly after with four more asha'man by his side.

"Carry her through" Rand said to the black coated men who seemed to be awaiting their orders. Not a second glance was given before the men carefully lifted Nynaeve and took her through the gateway. A wince and a groan were the only noises elicited from the broken down woman as she was carried into Ebou Dar. Lan, Rand noticed, seemed wary of every single man carrying Nynaeve. Almost as if he was a breath away from hitting every single one of them. Unusual as it was for Lan to seem so on edge; Rand let it go and walked through the gateway ahead of the asha'man.

The asha'man carried Nynaeve through the busy streets following close behind Rand who was headed straight for the Sun palace. Deciding to keep quiet and not ask Lan any questions was an easy decision to make considering that the man looked about ready to hit anything that moved despite his weak countenance.

Nynaeve's mangled form elicited stares from almost every passerby as they moved through the streets finally seeing the palace coming into view. Confusion was evident on the asha'man's faces upon being ordered to carry Nynaeve into the palace but his orders, after a few moments of hesitant stares, were obeyed and they all walked into the palace together.

Upon entering the magnificent, bright colored palace, a serving woman turned concerned eyes on the strange group coming through the doors. However confused the woman had been at first, it didn't last long. Wide eyed, the woman let out an ear piercing screech that seemed in earnest excitement.

In a matter of seconds, the woman hitched up her skirts and began to run up the long flights of stone stairs that reached all the way up to who knew where and ended even further. As the woman nearly went out of his view, Rand heard her scream as loudly as possible "Elayne Sedai, it's Nynaeve Sedai! She has returned!"

Not even half a second later, the sound of multiple running feet came into earshot as his friends began to run down the steps in a hurry to see if the maid had been seeing things. Elayne, the first one coming down the steps, stopped as she saw a mangled figure in the arms of five asha'man. Disbelief flashed on her face more than anything else.

Her face told of the dead walking- which, he supposed, was the case at the moment- but not a second more was spent with staring. Elayne as well as Mat, Birgitte, Avhiendha, Thom, Juilin, and Egwene all ran hastily down the remaining steps and straight to Nynaeve.

The overwhelmed asha'man laid Nynaeve down on the hard stone floor in order for her friends to see her. Excitement only lasted a second until everyone saw the state Nynaeve was in. How could anyone smile when they saw how bruised and broken she was?

When first Rand had seen her he wanted to sick up! Never did he expect to see Nynaeve in such a state! It only took one more second before everyone was down on their knees surrounding Nynaeve with questions. Upon closer inspection, it was seen that Nynaeve was no longer conscious.

Her eyes were closed and she was unresponsive, yet she still breathed. "Quickly, take her to my room!" Elayne yelled to the asha'man with panicked concern in her voice. Egwene's expression was as unreadable as Lan's.

Her eyes were filled with unshed tears that showed extensive happiness, yet her face showed concern and graveness like Rand had never seen on her before. Nynaeve was carried up the stairs with Elayne, Egwene, Birgitte, and Avhiendha all at her side and ordering the men to be careful or else they would look worse than Nynaeve when they were finished with them.

Mat, Thom, Juilin, and Lan all remained at Rand's side though Lan seemed to be tempted to go after Nynaeve. Mat's eyes followed Nynaeve's form every step until she was out of his view. Rand doubted he would ever admit it, but Mat seemed on the verge of tears.

"Did you kill _her_?" Mat asked with contempt in his voice. "No, _she _got away" Rand replied. "But I have a feeling she won't stay gone for long. She seems to want Nynaeve badly enough to come back and get her, and when she does, I will be waiting."

"How did Moghedien escape?" Lan asked contemptuously. Rand turned his eyes to Lan who seemed even angrier than him. "It was not Moghedien that escaped" Rand replied. Brow furrowed in confusion and thought, Lan eyed Rand for an explanation. "How can you be certain?" he asked. "She came into the cells, it _was _Moghedien."

Rand didn't want to continue his explanation, but no other option was available. Besides, Lan had to know the current situation they were in. "Because" he said slowly, "we killed Moghedien two days ago."

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please R&R, I appreciate constructive criticism.


	4. Chapter 4

Defeat Chapter 4

Awaken

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Disclaimer- I own absolutely none of Robert Jordan's work.

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"What happened to you, Nynaeve?" Egwene asked, incredulity lining each word. Nynaeve's mangled form told a simple tale of abuse, but what Egwene wanted to know was, who had done this to her? They had all been so certain that Nynaeve had died in the boat. After all, that was the boat she had been in.

Elayne had been in quite a panic when it had happened and had used a gateway to reach Rand and her. At first, she didn't believe it for even a second yet, when Nynaeve didn't show up after dark… Well, she had given up on ever seeing her mentor again.

Elayne had been a distraught wreck, but none like Mat. When she had gotten to the palace, not an hour had passed since Nynaeve's disappearance and the first she saw of Mat was him merely sitting in the corner of a dark room all alone. He had said that it was all his fault she had died and that it had been his responsibility to protect her.

This very morning was the first time he had actually seemed to be coming out of his grief. Rand had taken it pretty hard too, they all did. None of them had ever even imagined Nynaeve dying. Normally so fiery and strong, Nynaeve seemed the last person out of any of them to be the one to die. The news had felt somewhat like a bullet piercing through her heart when Elayne had first told her.

Many tears had been shed on Nynaeve's behalf and not just from her, but from all of them. Everything had been sorrowful and quiet until a few days ago when… She got chills just thinking about what had happened.

"Moghedien" Nynaeve croaked with hatred from the bed she had just been laid in. Confusion swam through Egwene's mind at Nynaeve's answer. How could that even be possible? Rand had killed Moghedien not but a few days ago! What was she supposed to say? It was obvious Nynaeve didn't even want to hear the name of the forsaken, let alone have a conversation about her, especially when she was in that condition.

It was only obvious Nynaeve needed healing but neither she nor Elayne had enough strength. One of Rand's asha'man standing in the corner of the darkly lit room stepped forward "I have orders from the lord dragon to heal her." The asha'man was older and seemingly confident but not pompous, if any word was to be used to describe him, it would be respectful.

A simple nod of her head prompted the man to step up to Nynaeve's bed and begin healing her. The only sign that anything was being done was a gasp from Nynaeve and a shiver going through her like a cold chill. The asha'man stepped back with a satisfied grin before leaving the room as silently as he had entered it.

Time seemed to slow as Egwene walked toward the large four poster bed Nynaeve was laying in. Though the healing had taken away bruises and marks, a simple look in the wisdom's deep brown eyes was enough to see that she was dying inwardly. Egwene didn't even want to know what had happened to her those weeks she had been gone. A sheer look of defeat was painted on Nynaeve's face and sent daggers through Egwene's heart. If anyone had ever looked defeated, it would not have been Nynaeve.

Weakly leaning up against the headboard of the bed, Nynaeve took a look at the many faces in the room with her. When Nynaeve's eyes got to Egwene, she held her breath. Stepping up to the side of the bed Egwene had to hold herself down to keep from jumping right on top of Nynaeve had squeezing the very life out of her in pure joy.

A small tear streamed down her face tickling her cheek as it went. That was it, she could not hold in her excitement anymore without killing herself! Without a second thought, Egwene jumped onto the bed next to her mentor wrapping her arms around her neck and leaning her head on Nynaeve's shoulder. Tears began to form as quickly as rain in a storm in Egwene's eyes as she sobbed softly on Nynaeve's shoulder.

As Egwene sobbed in pure relief and joy, she felt a hand come up to the back of her head and begin petting her head softly in a comforting way. "It is all right, Egwene" Nynaeve mumbled next to her. This only made Egwene's tears fall faster. How was it that she was the one being comforted? Nynaeve had just gone through who knew what and yet she was telling her everything would be okay!

Just as Nynaeve had spoken, the bed bounced as if someone else was getting on top of the bed too. Pulling her soaked face up from Nynaeve's shoulder, she saw Elayne and Birgitte sitting on the bed too. Avhiendha, as usual, was apart from everyone else and standing next to the bed. Smiles were painted on her friends faces as well and a few tears glistened on Elayne's cheeks. Happiness was not the only emotion that was coursing through them all, there was also shock. How could this be real?

One moment they were all just sitting around grieving the loss of their friend, and the next their friend was back from the dead! Now that all of the flesh wounds were gone from Nynaeve's body, the only sign left that anything had happened was her mangled hair and dress.

That and the look in her eyes that showed pain. That look was enough to make anyone worried. "Where have you been?" she asked finally breaking the silence of the room. Nynaeve looked at her as if she was dreading that question more than anything. "Moghedien took Lan and I after the boat sunk. She kept us in the dungeons for weeks. That is all. I am all right now."

Egwene frowned at Nynaeve but the woman turned away before she could see. That was certainly not all. If she had simply been kept in a cell, why had she been so badly bruised and cut up? No, Nynaeve was either lying or not telling the truth.

Why was it that Nynaeve always did that? She never let her true emotions go and everyone else had to pay for it. In her opinion, Nynaeve was acting like a child. Looking at Birgitte and Avhiendha, Egwene could tell that they were thinking the same thing she was. Well, for the most part anyway. There was definitely more that Nynaeve was hiding.

"That can't possibly be-,"

"We are all so glad you are all right" Elayne interrupted her giving her a pointed look along with it. She knew Elayne was right, Nynaeve had been through a lot but she wanted to know what had happened to her! Next to her, Nynaeve took a deep unsettling breath. "I was beaten everyday and afterwards… I didn't see Moghedien until just this morning" she said with pain in her voice. Afterwards? What happened afterwards?

Long silence ensued as no one in the room knew just what exactly to say. Egwene just felt frustrated. Why did Nynaeve have to treat her like a child? She could handle hearing whatever had happened to Nynaeve, Why was she trying to hide it so much? Either way, she would get it out of her at some point. "Nynaeve al'Meara, you say you saw Moghedien this morning?" Avhiendha asked with a furrowed brow. Nynaeve nodded but the nod elicited no commentary from any of them. What were they supposed to say? Don't worry, Moghedien is dead, but the person who tortured you is still on the loose and most likely angry?

No, not yet at least. Nynaeve needed time to heal from her situation. And Egwene would make sure she got enough rest; and that she found out what Nynaeve was hiding from her.

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Okay, yes I know, boring chapter. But it had to be for this specific one. I needed to show the girls' shock at seeing Nynaeve back from the "dead". Hope you enjoyed it! Please R&R and I promise the next one will be better!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It's Over Now

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Disclaimer: I do not own Wheel of Time or any of its amazing characters.

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_Click…Click…Click. _Nynaeve couldn't be certain if the shoes clicking on the ground were really coming so slowly, or if her mind was somehow slowing it down for her. Both ways seemed equally terrible.

_Click…Click…Click. _In between every click of the shoes, Nynaeve's heart raced and pounded so quickly, she wasn't entirely certain it wasn't trying to get away.

_Click…Click…Click. _Pungent, rotten, and mildewed smells surrounded the dark dungeon Nynaeve was in, and each and every breath she took brought a new sour smell into her nostrils. It was a fight not to sick up everywhere.

_Click…Click…Click. _How many more clicks would she have to hear before her tormentor, her demon showed his face? How long would she have to endure the heart wrenching sound of his greasy, dusty shoes clicking on the ground before his sickening face would be made clear to her?

_Click…Click…Click. _How long would she have to wait before deaths frightening yet freeing embrace would take her away from her continuous torment? Light, how she wished for deaths sweet embrace to take her! To take her now! Quickly, before the clicking of the shoes stopped; before his evil smile was fixed at her!

_Click…Click…Click. _Please, she begged silently. Please, Oh Light please, take me, kill me! A wheeze escaped her dry, cracked lips as she tried to breathe. Every single breath brought agonizing pain. A thought entered her mind; a thought that was even more painful than the torture she had just endured at the hands of Freya, her tormentor.

_Click…Click…Click. _Just stop breathing, she told herself silently. The thought burned and ached, but it seemed an escape from the madness she was enduring. Stop breathing and not only the physical pain will end, but also the emotional. It will end; all of it, she told herself.

_Click…Click…Click. _In one swift, painful motion, Nynaeve stopped breathing. She allowed no more air to painfully escape her burning lungs. Instead, she focused on the rusted, dripping ceiling. A blanket of peace suddenly washed over her; it would soon be over. Every torment, every tear, and every ounce of pain she felt at being resented by Egwene and the boys. Lan would never be able to turn away from her again; no, she would turn away this time. Only, this time, she wouldn't come back. How glorious that seemed!

_Click…Click…Click. _As she laid on the cold, wet, and hard ground of her cell no longer breathing, the peace that she had previously felt slowly began to fade away. The once dark and rusty ceiling began to turn into visions; visions that brought pain even worse than what she had already been through. Above her was an image of Mat riding into battle on a large horse. He was already painted with blood and looked barely able to hold himself upright. Each pounding step the grey horse underneath him took, the more energy he seemed to lose. The large black staff in his hand, his only weapon, slowly rolled out of his palm as he could no longer bear its weight. Yet the grey horse underneath him continued without a notion of the wellbeing of its rider. Slowly, as if time had somehow been slowed to torment her further, a sword the color of pitch flew through the air, blade pointed straight at Mat. Unyielding, the blade pierced through Mat's heart as he slowly fell from his saddle. A tear fell silently from Nynaeve's still form as the ceiling went black again.

_Click…Click…Click. _As the tear fell from Nynaeve's cheek and hit the already wet ground, the ceiling painted itself with another haunting vision. This time, it was Perrin, running furiously through thick, brown, and dying fields of grass with large ravenous wolves at his sides. Arrows rained down upon him and the wolves, his brothers, as they continued to run. As Perrin's heavily muscled form ran, the wolves around him began to fall prey to the rain of black barbed arrows that seemed to endlessly fall upon their prey. Yelps and bone chilling howls seemed to come from everywhere as the wolves were hit and in turn fell. Each wolf that fell seemed to add a weight upon Perrin's already large shoulders. As time painfully and slowly passed, Perrin seemed unable to hold himself up, let alone continue running, yet he did. A frightening growl flew from Perrin's lips as he fell upon his knees and began running next to the few remaining wolves, his brothers, and his kind. A black barbed arrow, aimed directly at Perrin, interrupted his run as it pierced his side. A howl that reached the edge of the earth emitted from Perrin's bloodied lips as he fell on the now blood stained grass next to his brothers, his kind. Another tear fell aimlessly from Nynaeve's eyes as the ceiling returned to its normal form once more.

_Click…Click…Click. _Though tears fell silently from her eyes, Nynaeve allowed not a breath to neither escape nor come into her fiery burning lungs as the ceiling once more turned into a ghastly vision. Elayne, sitting proudly upon her throne as a small, proud and happy smile played at her lips. Chin high, Elayne looked to be in her normal state yet something was wrong about the scene before Nynaeve's eyes. Behind the lion throne, a silver object shone with the light of the sun shining in the room. The object sparkled and shone furiously as it began to move slowly forward from behind the throne. As it moved, the objects form was now visible as a large dagger ready to pierce an unsuspecting queen. A black cloaked figure moved with the speed of light toward Elayne and slowly, the dagger pierced Elayne's heart emitting a high pitched scream from the queen. Blood redder than the sunset sky began to run down the jeweled dress Elayne wore as she fell forward hitting the ground as death took her. Another tear found its way on Nynaeve's cheek as the ceiling returned to its dank form.

_Click…Click…Click. _Just as soon as the last vision had faded, a new one appeared in its stead. This one was Egwene, upon a snow white horse walking over the countless bodies of dead soldiers and trollocs. Her red, tear stained eyes seemed to scan over the bodies as if searching for someone important. Her hands gripped so tightly to the reins, her knuckles were white with the exertion. Pain danced across her features as she pulled her white horse to a stop and jumped down from her saddle to lie next to a dead soldier's mangled form. Her face fell upon the soldiers' body as tears fell freely from her eyes. Egwene's hands, now painted in the soldiers' blood, touched the red hair of the soldier as if she were trying to comfort the dead man. From behind Egwene, a wounded and limping trolloc with the face of a goat came running towards her, yet she moved not a muscle. As the trolloc came frightfully closer, Egwene turned to face it as she pulled from her belt a measly dagger. A mocking laugh came from the trolloc's snout as he unyieldingly plunged his pitch black sword into Egwene's chest. She fell with not a scream or a yell next to her dead soldier as the ceiling returned to it's rusted from. Another tear slid down Nynaeve's cheeks as she continued not to breathe a single breath.

_Click…Click…Click. _To the utter horror of Nynaeve, the ceiling once more took the form of another vision, this time it was Rand. Rand, upon his knees on sharp, jagged rocks redder than the dragon upon his arm. His face was twisted with pain as blood poured from a wound in his side. Blood ran agonizingly slowly down his side and onto the sharp rocks painting them with the blood of the most important man in the world. With a grunt, Rand grabbed his side trying to hold his wound that was, no doubt, causing him excruciating pain. Beside Rand were no enemies, next to Rand were no enemies, and behind Rand there were no enemies, yet he looked around him as if an attacker was right before him. With an unexplained yell, Rand fell back upon the jagged rocks where he merely laid without any movement except for a few ragged breaths. The blood continued to pour from his side, yet no movement occurred anywhere near him. Rand shook and trembled with what could only be explained as fear though there was nothing and no one around for him to fear. With a ragged and piercing yell, Rand lifted his hands to the sky as if begging for it to end. With a sudden shock, Rand's hands fell down to his sides and all was quiet. The dragon reborn was dead. Tears fell relentlessly down Nynaeve's cheeks as the rusty ceiling replaced the images filled with so much pain.

_Click…Click…Click. _Once more, and with more pain than could have been imagined, the dark, dank ceiling took the shape of a vision. It was Lan. Lan on a green grassy hill overlooking many lakes bluer than anything she could ever have imagined. A deep red flower was held tightly in his hand at his side, yet the flower was wilted as though it had been in his hand for ages. Lan's dark hair blew in the breeze that flew past him revealing a face that was no longer made of stone but rather of pain. One single tear fell down Lan's cheek for a reason Nynaeve could not understand as she watched the image before her. Lan bent, or rather fell down upon his knees before a carved stone. The fluent breeze continued to play at his hair and made the long green grass move to a steady flow. The wilted red flower in Lan's hand sat still as though the heavy breeze could not touch it, as if it, instead of the person holding it, were made of stone. Leaning forward, Lan gently and with pain in his motion, laid the flower down beside the carved stone and Nynaeve finally got a look at the words carved into the stone. **Nynaeve al'Meara **was the only words on the stone yet they seemed to bring so much pain to the man standing before them. Suddenly, as if no time had changed, the breeze became flakes of snow, and the ground became white with them. Lan, had not moved a single muscle and he was now covered in the white flakes of snow. Slow misty breaths came from Lan, but as the time slowly passed, the breaths became lighter and farther apart. Though it seemed time had changed with the weather, Lan had not changed. He was not a day, an hour, or a minute older than when the vision first began. "I told you I would not last long after you" Lan breathed raggedly as he breathed one last heavy breath. Falling forward, Lan landed right next to the grave marked with her own name as death encompassed him. Black took over the vision as Nynaeve could no longer see or feel anything other than the intense burning of her air deprived lungs.

_Click…Click…Click. _Thick, heavy, and warm tears were falling quickly from Nynaeve's eyes as every vision she had just seen replayed behind her closed eyelids. Death, death was coming soon to her. It would take away all of her pain, her sorrow, her tortures, but she was needed. She could not die now, not when everyone needed her. Not when there was much left for her to do. And not when her duty called her.

_Click…Click…Click. _With a wheezing cough, Nynaeve drew in as much air as she could. She felt dizziness surround her as the air was returning to her burning lungs. Tears continued to fall from her eyes, but she felt now stronger than she had in a while. She knew she had to make it through the pain, the torture, the sorrow, not for herself, but for all of the people that needed her. And she would make it through, damaged or not!

_Click…Click… _Even from where she was, Nynaeve could feel the dirty eyes of the jailer watching her. 

_Squeeeeek… _The cell door opened and closed as the jailer entered and smiled with a disgusting grin that told all of his plans straight away. Across from her cell, Nynaeve could hear Lan yelling at the man to leave her alone but somehow, it seemed to motivate the man even more. Ragged tears fell as ragged breaths were taken. She had to make it through, no matter what! The man began to remove his trousers and Nynaeve began to yell and scream though she had been through it all before. A loud scream fell from her lips as her horrors once again came into being.

Nynaeve bounded up in the four poster bed where she lay in the silence of the night. It had only been a day since her rescue and yet it seemed as though she were still trapped in her dark cell. Hands and body trembling from the dream filled with the haunting memories of the dungeon, she laid back down on the pillows trying to conceal her tears though she was the only one in the room. She didn't know what was worse, her tortures, or the way she had tried to die. She had welcomed death even though she knew everyone needed her. Sobs tore at her throat as tears soaked the pillow underneath her head. She hoped time would heal these wounds.

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Sorry it took so long to post this but my writing juices haven't exactly been flowing. I know I didn't reveal anything new and I'm sorry about that but I'm still working on all of the details so this will have to do for now. Please review! I love constructive criticism so tell me what you thought! Thanks


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